Outcast - XV Ronin
by OutcastUltra
Summary: The story of a powerful Samurai outcasted from his homeland and his journey to destroy it.


Episode 1  
His eyes opened, pierced by sunlight. Sunlight... it had been a few hours - give or take - since Cor had last seen it. How long was it really? He wasn't sure. He wasn't even sure where he was, not at the moment anyway. The only clues Cor had to go on was the sun beating down on him and the dust that blew past him. Cor did his best to stand, but it wasn't just the sun beating him; his mind was as well. Vague flashes of a duel he thinks he was a part of, accompanied with the occasional head trauma reminding him that he lost. A voice slowly crept its way into his brain.

"A duel, hm?"  
"Your emotions cloud you, Cor."  
"Too slow."  
"You are a fool and a traitor. You do not deserve a warrior's death."  
"You will not defeat me!"  
"Cor, I..."  
*CLANG! *  
*CHING! *

At that, Cor held his head. The headache was starting to set in. He recognized this voice – it was a woman. It was soft and wise; yet commanding all the same. Cor likened it to a smile with malice behind it. He was finally able to stand and get a better view of his surroundings. Nothing but a seemingly endless desert, with the only standout view being a road. Since no other option remained, Cor followed this path. After who knows how many minutes traveling, he finally came to notice that his yukata was in tatters. The holes and dirt didn't bother him. The dried blood however, did. How badly did he lose this duel exactly? Was it even his? Cor was unsure. He also found his katana at his side. He unsheathed the blade, examining for damage on it. This task proved useless as the very blade itself was cut in half; merely a fancier knife now. He sheathed it, sighing. All he wanted now was a place to sleep. The dirt would have been fine, had the sun not been out. Cor's body perked up when he could hear an engine coming in closer. He hoped he could finally get a few answers about his situation. Yet something inside of him thought this would be too simple. He turned and saw a truck getting closer. There were three men inside of the truck, wearing clothes Cor found unusual compared to his attire. Niflheimian, perhaps? He wouldn't really know. What he could tell, at the least, was the steel covering their appendages and chest. "Definitely armor..." Cor thought.  
The 3 Niflheimians stepped out of their vehicle. They approached Cor with a strange enthusiasm. They pointed at his tattered clothing. One of them even eyed his scabbard. Finally, they started speaking with him. The driver approached first. Cor noted this rugged look on him. The tallest, a few bruises, sunglasses. At best, he had seen a few fair shares of battles.  
"Well well well, what've we got here? A genuine Samurai?"  
That word... it stung. "Samurai"? As if. Not anymore, he wasn't. But what was he then? Cor simply nodded.  
"Where ya hail from? Niflheim? Maybe you're a Lucian? Don't look like no Tenebrean to me."  
"...Wutai."  
The rugged man's expression dropped. He looked disgusted. The other two looked right pissed. They began to inch closer.  
"Wutai, eh? One of them... don't really appreciate that name. Heh, I don't think anyone does really."  
"Well then, I'm sorry you feel that way."  
"Save your damn apologies, scum. Think you can just take what you damn please without a fight?! I don't think so!"  
Cor could see the other two men pulling out their weapons. "I can see the metal already... too small to be a katana. Pocket dagger, then. Other one's got his hand curled. Firearm?" Cor focused his attention back on the rugged man in front of him.  
"Look, I'm going to be honest. I'm not even sure where I am now. Now I don't personally care about your feelings on Wutai, but allow me to say this: You do not want this fight.""  
"Where you are? That won't matter. Because in a few seconds, you'll wake up in Hell!"  
"The man took out a knife from behind his back, raising it high in the air. He brought the knife down onto Cor. Blood flew into the air.  
"The man looked shocked. Cor's fist was raised in the air to block the knife, the top of his hand bleeding from the slash.  
"I just wanted a quiet evening."

Cor grabbed the man's weapon hand, following it up with a headbutt to his face. The now bloody faced man stumbled backwards, pointing his knife towards Cor. The two other men pulled out their weapons, a pocketknife and a pistol. As expected. Cor unsheathed his broken sword. He dashed towards the leader, jamming straight into the chest. He released the handle to grab the man's blade hand with his right hand, raising his left in the knife hand position. He brought it down onto the man's wrist, shattering it. The man screamed, only just realizing Cor was lifting his leg. He delivered a kick onto the knife, digging it and his foot into the man's throat.  
The other two froze in fear. "Perfect." Using the lifeless body as a ram, Cor charged into the man with the pistol. The thug was overtaken by the body, falling over. The pocketknife thug charged towards Cor. He held his palm out, allowing the knife to be driven into it. He delivered a surprising headbutt as a counterattack, stumbling backwards and losing grip of his knife. Cor managed to grab a hold of the blade, making a short dash to the now unarmed thug. He jammed the knife right into the thug's chest, twisting it by the handle. To ensure the thug would stay down for a few minutes, Cor delivered a swift jab to the face.  
Cor relaxed his shoulders. He made his way over to the pistol thug, whom was still struggling with the massive weight on him. His face was soon covered in shade; the shade of the lone warrior standing over him.  
"Asshole! Get him off me!"  
He stood silent, studying the thug. What should he do now? Cor could easily disarm him and leave the thug to the mercy of the desert. He could also lift the weight off the thug, perhaps he won't retaliate.  
Despite this, none of it mattered.  
Cor felt no mercy in his heart. Not today. Maybe not ever again. He stepped on the thug's wrist, allowing him to pick up the pistol. He studied it for a moment. He took aim at the man's forehead. The thug was afraid. Maybe for the first time in his life, he felt real fear.  
"No! Pl- "  
Cor pulled the trigger.  
And he pulled it again.  
And again.  
And again, until no more bullets remained in the chamber.  
He threw the pistol onto the ground. Cor's fist tightened. He turned away, walking into the seemingly unending desert.

It took about an hour. Cor realized far too late he wasn't hydrated enough to cross the desert. That fight did not help his energy either. His legs began to wobble, until he began to collapse. Cor was beginning to cough. "I'm... failing..." he thought to himself. He turned to look towards the sun. A small smile appeared on his face, vanishing almost as quickly as it appeared.  
"I'm going to die here... alone. Hot. Tired. Not too bad of an ending, I'd say. Heh... then again, I'm not sure what else to say."  
And that's when it happened. As he had done to the thug, shade covered his face. Someone was standing over him. It couldn't be the thugs, could it? If it were, Cor wouldn't have cared. He would welcome death with open arms at this point. And yet, it wasn't death. It was a face he recognized. How long could it have been since then?"  
"You're coming with me, Samurai."  
"...Regis...?"  
"We have a Kingdom to destroy."  
The man - Regis - began to lean closer to Cor. Cor's eyes began to blink faster and faster. He came to have a revelation. He thought to himself that now, he wouldn't be accepting death. It's too early for that. There's too much left unfinished to die here and now. No, he shall be the one to welcome death onto others. This thought satisfied Cor.  
And then he fell unconscious.  
Episode 1 - "Outcast"  
END


End file.
